Sunday, March 3, 2013

Vegan Food with Fun Names, Part One

I'm not sure what my deal is lately, but I've been really attracted to dishes with odd-sounding, fun-to-pronounce names. I keep seeing these dishes, mostly of the Asian persuasion, on vegan blogs and pinning them to my "Vegan Food I Want To Cook" board on Pinterest.

Now, I'm finally getting around to making a few. So tonight's post and tomorrow night's post will be dedicated to these dishes with fun names! First up — Okonomiyaki!

I found this recipe on The Real Meal. Before I read Allysia's post, I'd never even heard of okonomiyaki. But how much fun is that word to say? Every time I say it aloud, I feel the need to exclaim it and punch my fist in the air, Captain Planet-style.

Okonomiyaki is a savory Japanese pancake that can be made with all manner of ingredients. "Okonomi" means "what you like" and "yaki" means "grilled." What do I like grilled? Tofu!

Allysia's recipe substitutes tofu for the usual egg. That's blended with flour, nutritional yeast, olive oil, shredded cabbage, and green onion. Then the batter is fried, pancake-style. As for the sauce, mine is topped with Allysia's homemade okonomiyaki sauce (ketchup, soy sauce, vegan worcestershire) and chipotle Vegenaise. Allysia topped hers with regular vegan mayo, but I had a fresh jar of the chipotle flavor that I was excited to try.

This little pancake made for a fun and different breakfast. I served my pancakes with fresh apple and orange slices.

My name is Bianca ...

About Me

I'm an 11-year vegan, 21-year vegetarian from the Mid-South, not too far from the muddy banks of the Mississippi River. And that means cornbread, butter beans, and collard greens.
These days, I live in Memphis. Check out my cookbook — Cookin' Crunk. It's filled with yummilicious veganized soul food and country classics.